Profound Medical (TSX-V:PRN) and Royal Philips have signed a sales and marketing agreement that will advance the commercial launch of Profound’s TULSA-PRO, a minimally invasive system to ablate targeted prostate tissue.
Under the accord, the two companies will collaborate in the commercialization of TULSA-PRO in Europe followed by Canada, the U.S. and other markets, subject to regulatory clearance in those jurisdictions.
TULSA (transurethral ultrasound ablation) technology combines real-time magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with transurethral therapeutic, robotically driven ultrasound and closed-loop thermal feedback control, providing a highly precise treatment tailored to patient-specific anatomy and pathology.
The agreement follows a previously established collaboration to support Profound’s proprietary technology on Philips’s Ingenia and Achieva 3T MRI platforms.
“Our agreement with Philips will enable us to increase our reach of this unique technology to more clinicians and their patients requiring prostate care,” Profound CEO, Steve Plymale, said in a statement. “I am convinced that our TULSA technology will be a valuable addition to Philips’s expanding interventional oncology portfolio.”
Christopher Busch, general manager, MR therapy, at Philips, said MRI is emerging as a powerful tool in oncology, including the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of prostate cancer. “Our collaboration with Profound Medical in MRI-guided therapy further extends our portfolio of treatment technologies that we can offer to advance prostate cancer care,” he added.
TULSA-PRO for MRI-guided treatment of the prostate gland will complement Philips’s 3T MRI for multiparametric diagnostic imaging of the prostate, image-guided biopsies (MRI guided or ultrasound guided with MR registration) and MRI-only simulation for radiation therapy treatment planning, covering the various stages of prostate cancer care.
